Ed Abuse  A Story of Siblings
by Tnelson711
Summary: After many years of being picked on by Sarah, Ed snaps. And boy, is he mad!  Remake of my old fanfiction, Ed Abuse. Rated T for some dark themes. Chapter 4 is up!
1. Chapter I

It was a quiet summer day in the Cul-De-Sac. There were several reasons for this silence – nothing available to do, the fact that it was early in the morning (around 9 AM), and a lazy vibe from the children that resided here, which was expected from a town like Peach Creek.

But this story is not about the summer blues of Peach Creek. This particular story is about two people who quarrel every day. It is a story about a big brother and a little sister. It is a story of siblings.

* * *

><p>Ed Abuse<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

On this quiet summer day, Sarah was snoozing in her warm, soft bed. As her brother would say, she was as snug as a bug in a rug. Nothing could disturb this peace and tranquility.

Unfortunately, she stirred in her sleep for a few seconds, and then woke up with a start. She looked around the room – whatever was troubling her in this nightmare wasn't there.

Sarah wanted to go back to sleep, but she was worried that she'd fall victim to whatever woke her up again. She needed protection, and that protection came in the form of a doll she loved dearly – Polly Poo-Poo. She felt for the toy, but to her dismay, it was out of reach. Grumbling to herself, she got out of her bed and started looking further than the reach from her bed to find her beloved dolly.

However, this toy wasn't just out of reach – it wasn't even there. She took several glances around the room, and told herself, "It's there, I'm just not looking hard enough." When she had looked everywhere, however, her emotions got the better of her. She had to release her anger somehow.

Unfortunately for her brother, she knew exactly who to release it on.

* * *

><p>In the meantime, her brother, Ed, was occupied with hanging out with his friends, Edd and Eddy. The three buddies were just as bored as the rest of the Cul-de-sac. Without plans for today, they had only thoughts to keep them busy.<p>

"So, what do you guys feel like doing?" asked Eddy, breaking the dull silence that was shared between the three.

"Well, I think that a trip to the beach would seem refreshing," suggested Edd. Indeed, with the quiet morning came a shower of sun, and with that came a ray of heat.

"If we're going to do that," said Eddy. "We'll have to do it tomorrow. Early tomorrow, too, if we want to get a good spot."

"You guys' ideas are lame," mocked Ed with a cheesy smirk. "We should go to space and visit Pluto!"

"I don't know if we have the capability to travel to space, Pluto's status notwithstanding, but..." Edd's voice trailed off. Ed and Eddy watched as his fingers began to twitch, gesticulating in little motions as the boy mumbled quietly to himself. His face began to light up, and he said, "but I think I can _simulate_ it, though!"

"But Double D, you can't make space here on Earth!"

"It's possible to simulate the zero-gravity of space, Ed. However, I'm going to need a bit of time," explained Edd.

Ed sighed, and pointed upward to the sky above him. "Y'know, I'd love to go up there in space. No worries, no care...that kind of stuff is fun."

With Ed's vague answer, Edd and Eddy began to discuss this "space simulator". Ed wasn't paying attention, though, as he was still thinking about the joys of _real_space. He imagined himself flying in space and riding on a meteor, just as a surfer would ride a wave.

Suddenly, out of the blue, that spiteful, fun-ruining voice called.

"Ed..." called the voice of Sarah, emanating straight from her room. She wanted something, and Ed, despite his desire for freedom in space, knew that his responsibilities came first.

"Uh-oh, guys! Sarah first!" apologized Ed. "I'll meet you later!"

Ed turned towards his house, and was about to tread there before Eddy stopped him.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there, Monobrow," replied Eddy. "I think Sarah's ticked off at you. Don't go in there."

"Eddy! Ed's responsibilities as an older brother require Ed to tend to Sarah's need," scolded Edd. He followed that up with, "For all I know, Sarah may be hurt, and she can't get up."

"And maybe Sarah's not mad," continued Ed. "She hasn't screamed yet."

"_ED!_"

That shrill, ear-piercing voice confirmed Ed's situation.

"...I'm in trouble. Coming, Sarah!"

On that note, Ed scampered towards the house, not wanting to further provoke Sarah's wrath. This left Edd hoping for the best and Eddy palming his face at Ed's stupidity.

As Ed escalated the stairs, he told himself that, "No matter what, Sarah will love me." This was Ed's hope.

That hope would soon be dashed. But poor Ed did not know that as he dashed up the stairs to greet Sarah.

Ed wandered into Sarah's room, took a quick look around, and then stared at Sarah, who was also staring at him. He had only two words to say that moment.

"Yes, Sarah?"

"Ed, did you, or did you not _steal my dolly?_" screamed Sarah.

"N-no, I didn't," Ed said in defense. Today, Ed had gotten up, eaten breakfast, and gone outside to play with Edd and Eddy. He had avoided Sarah's room, for the most part. If he took it, she would murder him, and he did not want himself dead. Sarah didn't believe a word of it, though.

"Liar! Give it back, or else I'll beat you to a pulp!" threatened Sarah. She was really ticked off, and she meant business.

"I didn't! I swear!" Ed denied.

"Stop lying, Ed," Sarah growled, her fury provoked by Ed's "lying".

"Why won't you believe me, Sarah?" asked Ed. All Ed had wanted was to ask Sarah what was wrong, and what he could do to fix it. He did not want to be caught up in Sarah's accusations and blame.

Sarah approached him, her general movement similar to that of a tiger, ready to pounce on its prey – and pounce she did. She started punching him with the sting of a bee. Ed's hope for the best allowed him to accept the pain, to absorb it like one of the many sponges he hid from his family, absorb it like he had for six years.

Then, an alien emotion surged through him, and showed no signs of abating.

Anger.

Suddenly, Ed began to feel the punches that were being delivered. "Pain..." Ed gasped in between punches. "Ow..."

He became red in the face after a few seconds, and his steam was let out the very next moment.

"Stop!" he shouted, desiring to be heard by the deaf ears of Sarah. His cries were ignored, so he knew that he had to make Sarah know about his pain. If Sarah could give pain, she could _receive_ pain.

Ed grabbed Sarah's fist and pushed her to the floor. However, as he saw Sarah attempt to get up, he was teary-eyed, horrified at the damaged body of his own sister.


	2. Chapter II

Chapter 2

If anything could cement Ed's trouble, this was it.

Sarah groaned in pain as she got up. She, with wide, bewildered eyes, stared at Ed for a moment. These eyes then formed a dangerous scowl, a glare that meant certain death to whoever she stared at.

"I'm sorry...so sorry..." choked Ed, wiping a tear from his eye. Harming his sister would be suicide to him – and he didn't want to consider suicide.

"Yeah, well, sorry isn't going to cut it, moron," mocked Sarah.

"Please forgive me, Sarah," cried Ed.

"Well, I'm telling Mom, and you'll be grounded for hitting me without reason," threatened Sarah. "Grounded for being the most idiotic person I have ever met."

Ed gasped, and stared at Sarah for a second. Yes, Ed was devastated, devastated at the punishment he was about to receive from his mother. He had hurt Sarah, and that was reason enough to justify his punishment.

But as Sarah started for the door, Ed scowled as well.

"...no," said Ed, in a voice that was more of a gasp.

"Did you...did you just say _no_?" asked Sarah. This was something unexpected out of Ed.

"I'm not stupid," Ed stated. This bold claim was a stark contrast to his normal behavior, or at least in Sarah's eyes.

"...then what are you? Because I can't think of anything else you could-" began Sarah, before Ed cut her off, repeating his opinion in a voice that was more of a shout.

"I'm not stupid."

"Ed, what did I say about lying?" growled Sarah.

"I'm not stupid, Sarah! Don't lie yourself!" Ed shouted. He started advancing towards Sarah, slowly and threatening.

"Ed, you're scaring me," confessed Sarah. Sweat dropped from her face, but Ed took no note of it. His mind was not set upon that.

"Well, you should be – you've taken everything away from me! _Everything!_" Ed claimed. Sarah wanted to believe that Ed was joking around, like he usually was, but the tone Ed spoke in made that hard.

"W-what have I ever taken? It's not like I wanted it or anything."

"I'll tell you what you've taken, then – My _room!_ My _parents!_ My _love!" _Ed listed.

"I never took _any_ of that!" Sarah shouted in defense.

"Yes you did! And you also hurt me even when I did nothing wrong! Nothing_, _Sarah! And you know what? I knew that this was happening to me, but I dealt with it, ever since you were carried in by the Stork! I dealt with it because I loved you, and I thought that you loved me! Even though I knew that..." Ed trailed off for a moment, then, with a sob, ended with, "that I was wrong..."

With that, Ed burst into tears and scampered from the room, leaving Sarah to wonder what the heck she did wrong.

* * *

><p>"Oh dear...Ed's been in there for quite a while," mused Edd. It had been about thirty minutes since Ed had gone in to see Sarah, so he and Eddy were becoming very worried.<p>

"What did I tell you? Sarah probably got him in trouble," repeated Eddy.

"Yes, well..." Edd groaned, his voice as guilty as a robber would be. "hopefully this punishment isn't too bad."

"Yeah, right," giggled Eddy. "Sarah, going easy on Ed?"

"Sarah's been nice before, however," Edd claimed.

"Yeah, because of that boomerang," groaned Eddy. He did not want to be reminded of the hijinks caused by that strange and wicked object.

As they stood hoping for the best, the door creaked open. Edd and Eddy took a glance, and saw Ed. However, this wasn't the happy-go-lucky Ed they had known for several years – today, he looked sad. The icing on the cake were bruises all over his body.

"Goodness gracious, Ed, are you alright?" inquired Edd, wondering what had happened. Seeing injuries on Ed was normal when confronting Sarah, but these injuries were much worse than he had ever seen. Normally Ed would be mentally calm, but he didn't have that silly grin.

"I'm...I'm alright, guys," Ed replied.

Eddy took a quick look at Ed's injured body. "Yeah...doubting it."

"I'm alright, Eddy," Ed sighed. "Don't worry."

"You're a bad liar, Ed," laughed Eddy. "So tell me, what happened?"

"N-nothing, Eddy. Nothing that you need to worry about," replied Ed, forcing a smile on his face.

"Eddy has a point, Ed," said Edd. "We're only here to help you, so if something's on your mind, don't be afraid to tell us."

Ed took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, then. Sarah's beaten me up today for 'stealing her doll', even though I didn't do it. And she's beaten me up much more in the past."

Eddy chuckled. "Captain Obvious is in charge here, Double D. Tell us something we don't know, Ed."

"As much as I hate agreeing with an attitude like that, Eddy's right," admitted Edd. "We know that you've been hurt by Sarah, but this is the first time you've shown sadness over it."

"It...it's not just when I cause trouble," explained Ed. "I get beaten up even when I do nothing wrong."

Eddy stopped laughing for a moment to think about what Ed just said. "Whoa, seriously?"

"Yeah. She beats me up whenever she's angry, and she's angry a lot," continued Ed.

"If what you're saying is true, then Sarah is abusing her privilege as a younger sibling," said Edd, saddened by Ed's troubled situation. "You need to stand up for yourself."

"Even if I do, it won't work – I'll always get in trouble," drawled Ed.

If this conversation was meant to be private between Ed, Edd and Eddy, it failed at that, because Kevin, who overheard pretty much everything, chimed in. "Dude, that's really grotesque. I never knew it was this bad."

"Yeah, it is," groaned Ed.

"Is this true?" asked Rolf, who also joined in this conversation. "If this is true, then She-who-screams-her-heart-out is a crime against the Unibrowed Ed-boy."

In a matter of minutes, everyone in the cul-de-sac – everyone except Sarah, of course – joined in on the conversation. Most of them were in support of Ed, but they couldn't do anything about it. They expressed their opinions on getting back at Sarah for this somehow. Jimmy was silent, though. He was best friends with Sarah, and he didn't think that Sarah was a monster, despite public opinion.

"Yeah...it's true. Sarah hurt me bad, everyone," said Ed.

"Are you _sure_, Ed?" asked Jimmy, after a long moment of silence.

"Yes, Jimmy," confirmed Ed. "I have been hurt by Sarah for so long, that I forgot where my happiness is."

"...I'm not believing it," replied Jimmy, with a voice that was more of a stifled cry. "Sarah's innocent. She wouldn't hurt you without purpose."

"Say what you will, Jimmy," said Edd. "But I doubt that Sarah would have a reason for what happened today."

"Lies! All lies!" Jimmy shouted, denying the harsh reality of the situation. He scrambled for his house to think about who Sarah really is.

Sarah was like a goddess to Jimmy – was she really innocent, like he knew she was? Or was she truly a heartless, cold-blooded jerk like everyone was currently making her out to be?


	3. Chapter III

Chapter 3

If Sarah wanted to make two plus two equal four out of what Ed told her, the first place to go was to her Mom.

Sarah scurried to the kitchen, where her mother was cleaning dishes. She had to tell Mom...something.

"Uh...M-Mom?" stuttered Sarah, as she stood behind her mother. She turned and smiled at the presumably innocent face of her daughter. "There's something I'd like to ask you."

Sarah's mother nodded, wondering what her child could want.

"Well..." Sarah's courage failed her, and she asked, "may I see some of your family photos? Like, the ones from before I was born?"

Sarah's mom took a deep breath. In, and out. Then, she walked towards the living room, and opened a drawer under the television. She took out several photos – photos that Sarah did not even see before. These were photos of Ed when he was little, as old as Sarah was when even she was younger. These photos were given to Sarah after they were discovered.

Images crossed her mind, images of Ed being potty trained, photos of him eating hard food for the first time, pictures of him in his bedroom, sleeping – wait, that's not his room, is it? She looked a little more closely. It was slightly smaller than Ed's basement, yet many of his toys were scattered about basking in the light of the window.

It took a long while before she gasped in horror. This was _her_ room! No...it couldn't be Ed's old room. It might have been from another house that her family lived in.

A long string of thoughts weaved itself in Sarah's mind. There was one thread claiming that this was from their family's old house, and there was another thread telling her the truth. But one thread was woven the most – this _was_ Ed's room, and she couldn't deny it.

No! She had to compare the room to her own, to see if it was Ed's room before.

Sarah walked up the stairs to her room. Yes...it was pink and cute, like normal. But that wasn't what she was worried about.

She held the photo up – it had the same geometry as Sarah's room, the exact same length, width, and height, the same window, the same door hinges, the same everything. This _was_ Ed's room before, and the photo was proof, hard proof that this was it.

Then, however, something changed.

Her possessions became Ed's toys, her pink walls became purple paint, and overall the room had transformed. This room looked exactly like the photograph that Sarah looked at – just like Ed's old room.

But that didn't last long. When Sarah rubbed her eyes, the past faded into the present. It was pink again, like she preferred.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Sarah, her thoughts averted from the room, scurried towards the door. When she opened it, however, no one was there. Grumbling, ticked at the fact that this was a prank ring, she closed the door and headed back to her room. As she turned, however, the doorbell rang again. She opened it again, and saw nothing but the cul-de-sac. As she closed it again and headed up the stairs again, the bell rang a third time.

When she opened it this time, however, a bucket lodged onto the door fell on her. This bucket was filled with water, and as it dropped, Sarah's body became soggy. Mumbling words of revenge, she stumbled up the stairs as she headed to the bathroom. She had to dry this water off before it stained her clothes. But as she began to dry her hair, the doorbell rang yet another time.

As she opened it this time, a fish struck her in the face. It was smelly, almost as smelly as her brother's armpits. Muttering the only curse word she was allowed to say (gosh dang kids), she stumbled up the stairs, hoping to wash her face off. However, she became aware of whatever prank was being pulled on her. She vowed to distribute retribution in kind.

The doorbell rang once more.

This time, when she opened the door, she held a water balloon in her hands.

"Alright, you mess with me, and you get..." Her voice stopped for a minute. There was no one around to throw the balloon at. "...the water balloon."

Frustrated to no end, she slammed the door and walked back up the stairs. Moments later, the balloon popped, further drenching Sarah in water.

* * *

><p>After the door had slammed shut, everyone who was involved in tormenting Sarah got out of the bushes, and took a look at Sarah through the window.<p>

"So," digressed Kevin, after their first prank upon Sarah was complete. "what now?"

"Well," began Eddy, "I think we can teepee the house when it's nighttime."

"I hate to rain on your parade, Eddy," Edd chimed in. "but this may affect Ed and his parents along with Sarah."

"Oh. Well, it's still worth a shot," suggested Eddy.

"If you must," sighed Edd, "then we might as well get to work on that simulator while we're waiting. I've compiled a list of all the materials we'll need, and I'll work on the blueprints as we collect them."

"So, Double D Ed-boy," spoke Rolf, who picked up the fish he used on Sarah. "What do you plan for this space-making doo-hickey? Wanting to go back to the days of old with scamming the residents of the cul-de-sac and afterwards getting punished in a hilarious manner, do you?"

"It isn't a scam. In fact, it was originally just for me, Eddy, and Ed, but I might as well share the details. I think I can simulate the low-gravity of space. Hopefully I can get it working by tonight," explained Edd.

As Edd began to bore everyone with the hard facts of simulating space, Ed began to go into his own little world. Right now, he had done something against Sarah – he had told everyone all that he had been through. If Sarah heard about this, he would be dead meat.

He desperately wanted that meteor to ride on right now.

* * *

><p>Jimmy paced around his room as he began to think about what had happened.<p>

From what he had heard, Ed was being hurt by Sarah. She wouldn't hurt him without reason – at least, he thought so.

He cuddled his friend's doll – Polly Poo Poo, the one Sarah let him borrow for a few days – for protection.

"Sarah...no matter what, you're still a pure soul," Jimmy mumbled.

No matter who lied about Sarah, he had belief – belief that Sarah would never harm a fly in malice.

* * *

><p>Sarah sighed, as she got her pajamas on. It was time for bed, and after a day like today, she doubted that she would get any sleep.<p>

She looked out her window, and saw Ed part ways with his friends. Yes, he was done for the night. She wasn't going to intercept him as soon as she got home – her strength failed her at the thought of it. Nevertheless, she just wanted to rest for the night.

She took a look at her room. She was trying to avoid her room's transformation again. Luckily, it stayed the same as before.

After she saw Ed get in, she closed her eyes. She drifted into that sleepy void of night, in an uneasy sleep.

* * *

><p>As the moon rose, Edd put the finishing touches of his space simulator. By that time, Edd was both physically and mentally drained. But he was determined to finish it by tonight. After hammering one last nail in, he proclaimed, "I'm finished!"<p>

"Yeah, well everyone else lost interest for the night," sighed Eddy, gesturing to the kids who were turning off their bedroom lights.

"Indeed," mused Edd, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Well, they'll see it in the morning."

"Okay, guys, I gotta go to bed," said Ed. After a day like today, he needed the rest. He headed for his house for the night.

After Ed had got in, he headed straight to his room. He was tired and drained of energy. He wanted to regain his strength for tomorrow – what for, though? He didn't know.

As he lay on his bed, he noticed something sticking out of one of his pillows. He took it out – it was a piece of paper – and looked at it. He sighed, and mumbled a few words to himself: "Will Sarah love me at all?". After that, he too fell into a deep nap.


	4. Chapter IV

Chapter 4

Princess Sarah did not remember how she got kidnapped by Eddy the No-Neck Dragon, but she could only call for help to encourage Jimmy the Knight to save her. She was stuck in a large, grey, dull fortress. This room in particular was about as tall, long, and wide as three bedrooms, but the only thing that didn't give much room for comfort was the dragon inhabiting it.

"Help!" she cried, struggling to break free from the chains that bound her to the wall. It was no use, though. She flailed and kicked and tugged but the thick shackles simply clanged together and pinched her through her long, pink dress.

Eddy the No-Neck Dragon was ferocious and fearsome. It was almost as big as the room itself, the spikes on its back scraping the ceiling as it crept towards her. It had the face of a human boy that Sarah loathed, yet it had the body of pretty much any dragon she had faced (and been kidnapped by) before. It had no neck, however, but that was the dragon's namesake. It roared, gloating at its successful capture.

_If only Jimmy could get here sooner._

As these thoughts went through Sarah's head, someone opened the door in the room. Both Sarah and the dragon took a look – it was a knight, dressed in black-iron armor. He, too, was fearsome, not to Sarah, but to Eddy. The armor did not look flimsy, it looked streamlined, despite the iron complexion. His sword was also black, like the armor.

Sarah took a closer look at the knight. His armor was a polar opposite to Jimmy's normal armor. And wouldn't Jimmy usually show his face to his enemies? She bore with it, however, since she had faith in Jimmy.

The knight turned his face towards the dragon. He simply beckoned it to him, as if to challenge it to a duel. The dragon was arrogant, but it did not simply rush toward the black knight. Instead, it swung around and swished its tail towards him. The knight responded by blocking the tail with his sword.

Thus, the two enemies started their duel. It was simply a duel between tail and sword, behind versus front. In a sense, the knight was going to kick the Dragon's-

"Go get him, Jimmy!" shouted Sarah, as the two duelists quarreled in battle.

The two fought for a good minute on Sarah's count, the dragon swiping its tail at the knight and the knight dodging or parrying it with his sword. He quickly got fed up with the petty battle, however, and he took hold of one of the tail's spikes as it swung toward him. He scrambled up to where the tail began and sliced it off. Furious at this new challenger, it started to breathe fire at the knight. He simply responded by jumping out of the way. He landed on the dragon's back, but instead of stabbing it there, he ran up to where the neck should have been. He aimed his sword there, and swung it with all his strength. The head rolled off towards the door.

The door swung open a second time. This time, a second knight arrived. This knight was covered with flimsy steel armor, and had a sword fashioned out of silver. It had a face that Sarah recognized.

"Jimmy?" asked Sarah, baffled at the appearance of this second knight.

Jimmy ignored Sarah, and shouted, in an extremely cheesy version of Old English, "Shall ye challenge me to a battle, Eddy thy No-Neck Dragon?"

But he took a second glance – the dragon was, surprisingly to him, already dead.

His attention was soon turned towards its slayer – the black knight. Likewise, the black knight turned his attention towards Jimmy.

"Ah, so ye hath already slayeth thy dragon – ye could maketh a good partner!" he exclaimed, congratulating this new acquaintance for a job well done.

To Sarah's horror, the black knight pointed his sword at him. Jimmy, who became frightened at this "friend" becoming an enemy in a matter of seconds, held his sword up in defense. As a result, the knight lunged forward and attempted to slash at him. Jimmy swiftly blocked the attack, and went on to defend himself from further swipes from this black knight's sword.

"Run, Jimmy!" shouted Sarah, worried to death about Jimmy's safety. Neither one of them knew what this black knight was capable of, so all she was concerned about was the security of her hero.

The two knights, locked in a frightening duel, hacked and slashed at each other in a futile attempt to best each other. This soon ended, for after an attack against Jimmy, the iron-clad knight knocked the sword from Jimmy's hand. Jimmy scurried for the sword, avoiding one last slash from his opponent's sword, but it was no use. The knight grabbed Jimmy by the neck. His iron grip choked the poor boy, but that was not the way he was to pass on.

With one cut from the sword, Jimmy, too, was beheaded.

"Jimmy!" screamed Sarah, hurt by the loss of her very best friend.

That sound alerted the black knight to her presence. He let go of Jimmy's body, and started to walk towards Sarah. As he approached her, he nodded to himself. Then, instead of attacking the princess, he took off his helmet. Sarah was aghast at the sight. It wasn't a warlock, it wasn't a goblin, but it was someone Sarah recognized.

"Ed?" gasped Sarah, her voice weakening at the true face of this knight.

The look on his face made Sarah realize that Ed was royally ticked off – it was a grimace, not the idiotic smile she was used to.

Ed lunged and swung his sword at the ground. It missed Sarah by a long shot, but that was not his intention. The floor beneath Sarah started to crumble and break, leaving her to fall into the darkness.

As she fell, thoughts scrambled through her head. What was Ed doing in place of Jimmy? Why was he in her dream? Above all, what was the meaning of all of this?

Suddenly, she landed on something soft. It wasn't her bed, and it definitely wasn't anything like it, for she was quickly covered in the substance. It felt like something she'd expect from a beach – after all, it _was_ a beach, as she discovered while getting up.

It seemed desolate, however, for the entire place was deserted had Sarah not been there.

"Hello?" asked Sarah to no one in particular.

But that call was not heard.

Sarah looked down, and to her surprise, she was in her regular clothes. This wasn't a fantasy world as of recent, for her clothes had gotten with the times. But as she was about to comment on it, she saw something else by her feet.

This was a yellow sponge, not unlike the ones Ed threw out during the Eds' escape on that fateful summer day. It looked lonely, like her. She saw it while laboring under a new emotion – was it sympathy, or regret?

She picked it up to inspect it. It was normal; soggy, but normal (aside from two round lumps on its top half), just like a sponge should be. But she saw it like Ed would have. He had been attached to a sponge, it was almost like a friend...

Suddenly, those two lumps opened up from a gash in the middle; those weren't lumps, those were eyes! Its black, dull orbs gazed at her, then suddenly let out a nightmarish cry. Sarah, shocked that this sponge was alive, screamed herself and dropped the sponge. As it hit the silky sand, it started to burn up, like an egg in a frying pan, and as it burned, its scream turned into a strangled moan. Soon, it was nothing but cinders and ashes.

Sarah, terrified at the death of this _animate_ object, stepped back. But when she turned from this horrific crime, she saw, in the distance, a body. It wasn't just any body – it was the sitting body of Ed, staring at the ocean on a rock. He was bored out of his mind, but...no! It had to be something else. He stared blankly at the sea, without any twitching whatsoever. It was almost like a slumber...

Not wanting to disturb this person, she walked away from the water and started to find a place to rest. After traveling down an abandoned road near the beach, being cautious in case there was a car cruising without a care for insurance, Sarah found a circle of houses nearby. This was a cul-de-sac, not unlike the one she was used to. In fact, it _was_ the one she lived in.

No, something was wrong. She just knew it.

She glanced at her own house. Would it be safe to go in there? Yes, this was the safest option.

She walked over to her door, and carefully opened it. To her surprise, no one was in the house. Even though it was abandoned, it was nice and tidy, unlike what she had expected. But, still treading with caution, she walked upstairs towards her room.

When she opened the door to her room, however, it wasn't what she had expected.

Space and sci-fi toys littered the room, though she could still see the floor. She took note of the purple aura within it. And to hammer the nail down, posters – posters of movies and TV shows – covered the walls.

This wasn't _her_ room. In fact, it was Ed's room, exactly like she had seen in the picture that one day.

But that one day, her room had turned into Ed's, and then back to her's. Why was this supposed to be Ed's room right now?

Her internal question was answered when the room started to transform again. But instead of becoming messier, it became...cute? The posters disappeared and were replaced by at least one mirror. The toys changed from space and science fiction to dolls and pretty stuff. And the walls; the walls became pink and pretty.

Sarah was about to rejoice at the successful recovering of_ her_ room, until she realized the horrible truth. This was _Ed's_ room before, but she had taken it from him.

"Sarah!" shouted a voice.

She turned – the voice had come from outside. She didn't respond, for she was surprised that someone was in her house. But who was it?

"Sarah!" boomed the voice again, in a mixture of tones – goofy, yet serious.

It was Ed's voice.

Sarah stepped back towards the window, preparing for a quick escape if Ed was angry at her.

"Sarah, get out of my room!" demanded Ed, who started pounding on the door.

She turned, but instead of seeing a landscape (she didn't care how demented it was), she saw darkness.

"Sarah, out of my room!" growled Ed.

The door started to crack from the pounding, which cemented Sarah's trouble. If she didn't find a safe way out of here soon, she was a goner.

"Sarah!"

She had to take a leap of faith.

But to her dismay, the window was locked. She was trapped in a room – her room, no less – waiting for a fate forced upon her.

With one last pound (from the head, as she soon found out), the door was broken and smashed out of the way. This was the Ed she knew, aside from his trouble-making attitude. She took a close look – Ed wasn't just being a bully, he had a tired glare in his eyes; a face worn down from stress and fist; a mere look that said, "I'm done with you." But why?

"I said get out of my room, Sarah!" shouted Ed, advancing towards Sarah.

Sarah flinched, as Ed approached her. But Ed didn't attack – instead, he stomped on the ground. This caused a large crack in the ground to be created, big enough for Sarah to lose her balance and fall.

Unlike the last time she fell in this sequence, she didn't have time to think. In a matter of seconds, she landed flat on her back. When she got up to look at where she was, she found that she was in a cage, trapped again by black-iron bars.

"Help!" shouted Sarah, with tears in her eyes. She just wanted freedom, freedom that she hadn't had for a while.

As she cried for help, a person she knew passed by. It was Edd, and she knew that he would somehow help her.

"Thank you, Double D," said Sarah. "Thank Antonucci you're my prince in shining armor."

Double D turned. Unlike most of the times she had seen him, helpfulness was not in his eyes; its replacement was a spiteful glare.

"Ah, what have we here? – A criminal?" chuckled Edd, his voice carrying a sadistic glee within it. "Don't waste your breath."

With another giggle, he went on his way.

The next person to pass by her jail was Eddy. She didn't expect any helpful words from him, but what he said surprised even her.

"I ought to kill you right now, fishlips," threatened Eddy. "But this humiliation's good enough for all of us."

He laughed, and walked on.

Soon enough, everyone she had ever met in the Cul-De-Sac arrived at her cell. Unfortunately, everyone had nothing good to say to her (Sarah even felt bad when she heard Rolf say, "So She-who-slaughters-the-Lump has finally gotten her retribution? Rolf thinks that is not enough for the likes of you.")

But why were they calling her such cruel names?

Soon enough, Jimmy came to the cell, and stared at Sarah.

"Jimmy, are you mad at me too?" inquired Sarah.

"I have nothing to say to you, you heartless, cold-blooded jerk," said Jimmy, glaring at Sarah with a look that pierced Sarah's mind. "But I want to _show_ you something."

Suddenly, Sarah heard a click. She tried to open the door, and surprisingly, it opened. She got out, and stretched her body. In the meantime, Jimmy stepped back, then turned.

"Follow me."

He started to leave, but as he went he beckoned Sarah to follow him. Sarah complied with his request. They walked without speaking a word to each other. After a few minutes of walking, they reached a large, lumpy object.

Jimmy stepped aside so that Sarah could see it. She gasped in horror at this bloody sight – it was the corpse of Ed.

Jimmy simply pointed at this corpse. He did not budge, he only stared and pointed at the object.

"W-what happened?" asked Sarah, with a very noticeable crack in her voice.

No response was given from Jimmy. He continued to point at the dead body.

"How did he die?" inquired Sarah, trying again to get an answer from Jimmy.

Jimmy persisted in pointing at this bloody corpse. Sarah took note of his head – it was cracked wide open, with blood still gushing out. Something blunt had mutilated her brother's body. Sarah immediately felt a gush of remorse for him – but she could not find the words to express it. She had to ask something about this horrible crime.

"Who killed my brother?"

Jimmy's head turned towards Sarah, his eyes again piercing her soul. He then moved his finger from Ed's body; its new target was Sarah.

"No...I didn't kill him!" she screamed, denying that she was a murderer. But had she not abused him? Had she not been responsible for beating the stuff out of him even though he was innocent? If they thought that, surely they would think that she was responsible for a murder, despite her word for it.

Her call was ignored by the ears of Jimmy. He continued to point at Sarah, and started to advance towards her. Sarah responded by stepping back. She wasn't able to step back far enough, for soon she was met with a cliff. She stumbled, her hands a whirlwind of motion, but it wasn't enough to regain her balance.

She fell, but luckily, her hands managed to grab onto the ledge.

"Save me, Jimmy!" shouted Sarah, hoping that Jimmy, of all people she had seem recently, would be sympathetic.

To her misfortune, he turned away. He walked off to stare at the corpse once more, leaving Sarah to hang there until the ledge broke; leaving Sarah to die...

The cliff crumbled, and Sarah fell into a gap that seemed to stretch for miles. As she plunged into darkness, she came to terms with her fate...


End file.
